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Develop Your Mind: Use the Amazing Powers of Self-Hypnosis,

Hypnosis is a fantastic resource you can use in your day-to-day life to solve many of your problems. It allows you to delve into your subconscious by crossing the threshold that separates your conscious and subconscious minds. You can take advantage of the amazing powers of hypnosis, which has been practiced effectively for centuries, by learning how to use the technique of self-hypnosis.  

But first, it’s important to change some of the preconceived notions you may have about the practice of hypnosis, and define what it is, and what it is not. As long as you’re not clear about that, and remain unconvinced of its effectiveness, it will be very hard for you to apply its principles.

A Pragmatic and Scientific Approach

Self-hypnosis is only one of the many ways hypnosis can be used to develop personality. I’d like you to take a few minutes now and make a list of the things that come to mind when you think about hypnosis. Take your time, and write down whatever thoughts you have that are associated with the word hypnosis. 

When your list is complete, set it aside for later, and read the principles outlined below, dealing with how hypnosis can easily be used as a method for personal development. 

You’ll be surprised to realize that if you get rid of your preconceptions about hypnosis, and even without any prior experience, you can easily place yourself in a state of self-hypnosis, and use it to improve your day-to-day life.

The first thing you need to realize is that, in some sense, we’re all hypnotized!

Under Permanent Influence

Consider one of the most common definitions of hypnosis: a process capable of, and used for, planting ideas in people’s minds, and making them act in accordance with those ideas, both while hypnotized and during their day-to-day activities. 

Contrary to what many people believe, it’s impossible to make someone do something they fundamentally don’t agree with. But we’ll talk more about that later. 

We’re all under the influence of something, at every moment of our lives. Our actions are motivated by the pressures we feel from the ideas we believe in, ideas that come from many sources: parental education, school, religious or spiritual sources, cultural environment, social and professional milieu, etc. 

During childhood, we assimilate a mountain of beliefs and preconceptions that dictate the way we think, speak and act later in life. 

Sometimes – I’d even say often – people don’t question the principles they were indoctrinated with while under someone else’s authority.

Submitting To Authority

Being submissive is one of the main principles guiding our lives. Being submissive to “authority” doesn’t just mean obeying the police, the government or the army. It means submitting to everyone you came into contact with who had power over you, from the time you were a child to the present day: parents, teachers, religious figures, mentors, spouse, doctor, friends, colleagues, etc. 

In short, all the people you respected, and whose advice you followed to the letter, without questioning its “authority” in the larger sense of the word.

Many of the ideas that govern the way you live were put there by authority figures, usually people who thought they were doing good. At the same time, your head is crammed with ideas, some of which may be good for others, but not for you.

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions

You shouldn’t try to see anything malevolent in the way others imposed their will on you. As the saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” People who thought they were acting in your best interests may have led you astray, and made you do things that didn’t correspond to your nature. 

Al of us, at some point in our lives, are hypnotized by ideas that are imposed on us, suggested by others. Which brings us back to the definition of hypnosis I gave you earlier. 

Let me remind you of it, so you don’t lose the thread of what I’m saying: Hypnosis is a process capable of, and used for, planting ideas in people’s minds, and making them act in accordance with those ideas, both while hypnotized and during their day-to-day activities.

Impregnate your mind with that principle, and then do the following exercises.

Exercise N° 1: The Practice of Self-Hypnosis

- Sit down in a comfortable position, or stretch out on your back.
- Close your eyes. 
- Breathe deeply from your abdomen* about a dozen times (1 cycle = 1 inspiration and 1 exhalation). Let your body gradually relax.
- Concentrate on the parts of your body, in the following order: feet, calves, thighs, buttocks, abdomen, solar plexus, chest, hands, forearms, upper arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, forehead, scalp, upper and lower back, coccyx.
- When you’re completely relaxed, formulate a positive suggestion. For example, you could say "From now on I’m filled with self-confidence."
- Then visualize a scene where you can demonstrate your self-confidence.

Recommendation: practice this exercise regularly, at least once a day, and use formulations that help improve your life.

* Abdominal breathing means controlling your breath with your abdomen. When you inhale, pull your stomach in. When you exhale, let it expand. Don’t force the rhythm of your breathing, but let it become slower and deeper on its own.

Exercise N° 2: The Mount Athos Method

- Sit cross-legged on the floor in a calm location. If the position is too difficult because you lack practice, or suffer from arthritis or joint problems, use a chair. Just make sure your back is straight, and your shoulders are relaxed. 
- Half-close your eyes. 
- Concentrate on your breathing, inhaling and exhaling at your natural speed, without forcing it in any way.
- When thoughts arise in your mind, let them pass. Don’t try to retain any of them, and don’t try to stop thinking about them either. Focus on your breathing. If your mind starts to follow a train of thought, concentrate harder on your breathing, and it will pass by itself.

Do this exercise starting with 15 minutes a day, and working yourself up to 30. It’s best to do it in the morning after waking up, to get yourself in shape for the rest of the day.